A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motorized cart, and more particularly to a motorized cart which allows a rider to safely ride up and down an escalator while in a seated position.
B. Related Art
There are numerous types of motorized carts in the prior art which are designed to allow its passenger to descend and ascend a flight of stairs. For example, a so-called "crawler type" vehicle has been proposed in which a plurality of wheels are arranged under the vehicle body, with a belt extending around the wheels. With this type of device, hook claws or the like are provided on an outer surface of the belt. In addition, a motorized cart that includes front wheels, rear wheels, and auxiliary wheels on the vehicle body which can be raised and lowered has been proposed.
All of the above-proposed motorized carts are designed to descend and ascend a flight of stairs, however they are not designed to ride on an escalator.
In particular, with respect to the "crawler" type motorized cart, an intermediate portion of the belt will come into contact with the corners of each step on the escalator, thus decreasing the total contact area of the belt. It is therefore difficult to keep the vehicle in a stable position on the escalator.
With the motorized cart having front and rear wheels, the front wheels and the rear wheels will each be positioned on different steps of the escalator. If the braking on the front and rear wheels is not suitable, there is a possibility that the vehicle could slip backward. In addition, when the corners of the steps of the escalator come into contact with the bottom of the motorized cart located between the front and rear wheels, the front or rear wheels may be lifted off of the steps so that the vehicle is slanted at a much larger angle than the slant angle of the escalator. This is quite dangerous.